A roundup of notable labor and employment law opinions from the past several weeks:

Schilling v. Schmidt Baking Co., No. 16-2213 (4th Cir. Nov. 17, 2017): Are employees who drive assorted vehicles in a mixed fleet—a fleet with vehicles weighing more and less than 10,000 pounds—entitled to overtime? Ruling: Yes, the SAFETEA–LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008 amended the FLSA so that employees who drive “in whole or in part” motor vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less are entitled to overtime. Court does not decide if there is some de minimis amount of time an employee can drive a vehicle that weighs less than 10,000 pounds and still be exempt.

Trejo v. N.C. Dep’t of State Treasurer Ret. Sys. Div., COA16-1182 (N.C. Ct. App. Nov. 7, 2017): Does the State Disability Income Plan have the right to offset benefits by the amount of hypothetical Social Security disability payments? Ruling: State law at the time said the Plan must offset the “Social Security disability benefit to which the beneficiary might be entitled,” so plaintiff loses even if she didn’t receive Social Security disability benefits.

Randolph v. Powercomm Construction, Inc., No. 16-2370 (4th Cir. Oct. 31, 2017) (unpublished): Parties settle FLSA collective action claim for $100,000; plaintiffs had alleged damages of up to $790,000. District court awards attorney’s fees of $183,764. Defendant appeals. Ruling: District court failed to support decision to not deduct fees for work on dismissed plaintiffs’ claims from the award and improperly calculated the reduction based on the plaintiffs’ lack of success. Vacated and remanded.

Wray v. City of Greensboro, No. 255A16 (N.C. Aug 18, 2017): City claims sovereign immunity in lawsuit by former police chief seeking reimbursement for legal costs. City has resolution stating it will provide for the defense and indemnity for police officers sued based on their actions taken within the scope and course of their employment. Ruling: The resolution is part of the employment contract, and since sovereign immunity is not a defense in a contract claim, plaintiff can proceed with claim.

MORE WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH YOUR NORTH CAROLINA BAR ASSOCIATION

Want to submit a blog post to the Labor & Employment Law Section blog?

The Labor and Employment Section welcomes guest blog posts. Your post can be about any topic, as long as it is related to labor and employment law – an interesting court decision, a new statute or regulations, or a hot issue – and whatever length you think appropriate. We’ll do the technical “back-end” work, so no worries there. Just send your post in Word or in the body of an email to Robin Shea, and we’ll take care of the rest. Thank you!

2018 North Carolina Bar Association and NCBarBlog. All Rights Reserved. Views and opinions expressed in articles published herein are the authors’ only and are not to be attributed to the North Carolina Bar Association or any of its sections, divisions or committees unless expressly stated. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all citations and quotations. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and site with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.